San Diego to San Francisco

[Catalysis]

We're planning to sail from San Diego to San Francisco in July over a leisurely couple of weeks.
Appreciate any pointers from folks who have done it.
Paul

[rebel heart]

Hey there Paul. I've sailed up to LA a few times and through the Channel Islands, never all the way to SF so for whatever it's worth:

If you know the coast you know that the wind is only active from about 10am to 5pm every day. Other than that you need a drifter or diesel. Oceanside and Dana Point are nice little harbors to stop into, and are a casual day apart from each other.

You're fighting the current and the wind the whole way. Newport Harbor doesn't have any guest slips, but a guy was nice enough to allow us to tie up to the yacht club dock for the night provided we were gone before his boss showed up in the morning.

[Misiu]

Originally Posted by Catalysis

We're planning to sail from San Diego to San Francisco in July over a leisurely couple of weeks.
Appreciate any pointers from folks who have done it.
Paul

You may have to prepare yourself for plenty of motoring unless you go really far offshore.
Places to stop overnight after you north of Conception are Port San Luis, Morro Bay, San Simeon Bay, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Pillar Point Harbor (near Half Moon Bay).
People are usually complaining about Conception/Arguello, so timing it would be important. Point Sur can be a bit windy.
Channel Islands have some beautiful anchorages. I like Santa Barbara Harbor and Monterey (I assume you know Monterey well) for a longer stay.
Do you know this guide?
Amazon.com: The Cruising Guide to Central and Southern California: Golden Gate to Ensenada, Mexico, Including the Offshore Islands (0639785801825): Brian Fagan: Books

[Catalysis]

Yes - we have the guides, our timing is now early July and we plan to stop at most, if not all, of the Channel Islands going North.

We are interested in day to day sailing with minimum overnight passages as we will have guests on board - any good anchorages and hikes that "left coasters" can recommend?

Paul

[Misiu]

I heard that hiking Santa Cruz Island is fun. I was only in Frys Harbor overnight couple of times and just stepped on the beach. We didn't have a landing permit. Frys is picturesque but it might be crowded.
San Simeon would be interesting to visit if you haven't seen Hearst Castle.
Point Lobos is my favorite both on land and underwater. I used to bicycle over there from Monterey marina (Pacific Grove, 17th Mile Drive, Carmel) but it's a long trip.
Montara Mountain from Princeton or Montara is also a hiking possibility.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Cat,

The list that Misiu has provided is prett complete and will provide you with a lot of interesting and reasonable anchorages.

But the advice that you will not have wind is perhaps uninformed. We've done the trip quite a few times in years gone by, and never found a lack of wind at night once past Conception. Rather the contrary, especially around Pt. Sur, so be sure that you have a small headsail as well as the drifter, and that your reefing gear is working.

Good sailing to ya

Jim and Ann s/v INsatiable II, lying Lake Macquarie, NSW Oz

[Misiu]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day Cat,
But the advice that you will not have wind is perhaps uninformed. We've done the trip quite a few times in years gone by, and never found a lack of wind at night once past Conception. Rather the contrary, especially around Pt. Sur, so be sure that you have a small headsail as well as the drifter, and that your reefing gear is working.

You right Jim. I read my post again and I apologize for not being precise
When I said motoring, I meant motoring upwind, unless tacking well offshore. And the part about timing Conception and Arguello is indeed about wind, often strong.

[Chopkins]

I am planning a trip from San Diego to San Francisco, I am thinking of making a few stops to refresh and top off on diesel, probably Newport or somewhere in north LA then Santa Barbara or Moro Bay then Monterey and on into SF. Your thoughts?

[Roy M]

Small tanks or heavy consumption? Have you had experience anchoring? Do you have clean tanks and new fuel filters, spare impeller,autopilot?

You can enjoy stopping at lots of places, but it's getting late in the season to dawdle going north. My recommendation is go quickly, stop little, and remain in port or in Coho (the last real sanctuary before you round Conception) when conditions warrant. It's real on the other side of Point Conception. You will talk about it in bars and cockpits for years to come. Have crew that can stay awake, not get seasick (too badly), and doesn't get terrified by large swells and steady, powerful wind. Morro Bay is nice, but skip it if the conditions are too rough. Read your charts, stay a respectful distance offshore should anything, like a dirty fuel filter, cause you to be incapacitated for a couple hours. It's a challenging trip, especially now that the storms are gathering.

[Paul Elliott]

That part about it being "only windy from 10AM to 5PM" is often true for the SoCal area south of Pt. Conception, but north of that you can have strong winds 24/7. It often calms down after midnight around Pt. Conception, but in July there can be fairly permanent gales off San Francisco (and north, especially Cape Mendocino, but that's north of San Francisco).

So, watch the weather. People often try to catch the tail end of a low-pressure system that's been moving down the coast, in order to catch a south wind part of the way. Otherwise it's usually a steady NW wind.

[gjordan]

I have delivered a number of boats up and down that stretch, and agree with Jim Cates about wind. I was beaten up many more times at Point Sur, than at Conception. If you are late in the day and you are not around PT Sur, then duck into Phiefer(sp?) Cove, about 5 miles below Pt Sur. It is my going north rest spot. Cojo is a good spot to wait for Conception to calm down. If Morro Bay is closed out, you can continue on to San Simion for a nights rest. Bouy your anchor in San Simion, since there seems to be junk on the bottom. Pay attention to notice to mariners, since there is a military firing range north of San Simion. I learned that one the hard way. Since you are planning on July, you will probably have a lot of fog. Radar would be a big help, but it can be done without it. Stay within the 10 fathom line and you never have to worry about large vessels. If it is clear it is a beautiful trip. have a good time. ____Grant.

[DeepFrz]

Chopkins, next time open a new thread. You have the guys all confused with the OP who was going 3 yrs. ago.

[markpierce]

My temporary neighbor blew out his 8-year-old jib on his trip north to the San Francisco estuary this summer. The jib has been been replaced (subsequent to the photo below), and he is leaving for South America around the end of the month.

[sanssouci]

Originally Posted by Catalysis

We're planning to sail from San Diego to San Francisco in July over a leisurely couple of weeks.
Appreciate any pointers from folks who have done it.
Paul

AIS, AIS, AIS...